King Stupid

Contents

Host

William Van Dyck

Broadcast

Pozzitive Production for BBC Radio 4, 22 September to 27 October 1998 (6 episodes in 1 series)

Synopsis

A silly panel game, not a million miles removed from the original concept of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, but with young-ish people on it. It seemed to be universally despised at the time, at least by the people who wrote in to Feedback about it, for two main reasons:

1) it was part of a season of unpopular shows commissioned by new Radio 4 controller James Boyle (only X Marks the Spot and Puzzle Panel survived more than a couple of years), and

2) some people thought that the title was intended to trip up the continuity announcers by saying "And now on Radio Four, King Stupid. The producer denied that was his plan.

Van Dyck, who had been one quarter of the fondly-remembered sketch show And Now In Colour at the start of the 90s, was rather low key for the show. With a change of host, it re-emerged as The 99p Challenge and lived happily ever after, despite the involvement of Peter Baynham.

Trivia

The final episode contained a joke so rude* that James Boyle cancelled the programme.

*What was so rude? In a round about inventing new tourism slogans for UK places, Peter Baynham quipped: "Come to Beachy Head and toss yourself off."